Potty Training, Fun?

Knowing it could potentially be the great struggle of Hudson's third year of life, I have researched potty training almost since Hudson was born. From all of my reading and question asking I decided it would be best to present potty training when Hudson first showed interest and then wait for him to show signs of readiness. That sounds quite simple, but it's not so easy. How do you really know when your child's ready? He's been fascinated with the toilet since he was a year old.

We've had a few attempts at potty training before, but this month he really seemed ready. Still, it's felt that most of the month I've gone back and forth on thinking he was ready. Our first attempt ended after about 3 days. There were only 4 stickers on his paper (meaning times he actually used his potty), and about 20 accidents with dirty pants for me to clean. I couldn't do it anymore. I thought I would just give up for awhile, but he's stayed interested and wanted to use his potty at different times throughout the day. So, I reluctantly decided I better not be missing my opportunity and should go with it again. This week has gone so much better with much more success, meaning many more stickers and fewer accidents. We'll see.

My favorite part of all this has been listening to Hudson talk about the subject. When he feels the need to go, he'll say, "it's coming! it's coming" and then take off down the hall exclaiming, "it's like a race!" We've talked about how we're proud of him, and he can feel proud, too. That has turned into a very sweet returned compliment. If we tell him we're proud of him, he'll tell us that he is proud of us, too. Love it! Then there was also the time that he brought me the little bucket from his potty to show me he had gone on his own. I couldn't believe it...he just ran through the house with a bucket of pee and thankfully it didn't spill!!!

On another note, the pregnancy is going well. Baby brother is growing and growing, and I've got a nice round belly to prove it. Poor Hudson still insists on trying to find a spot on my lap to sit even though there's really not room. We're still working on a name, and Hudson has given good input. He's taken to a baby we borrowed from a friend and calls it baby brother. Sometimes he'll offer a snack to my belly for the baby. He seems to be excited about the baby, but we know it will be a challenge for him. We're praying for a smooth transition and much love to abound.

I wonder which will happen first...potty training complete or baby brother arriving??

Like Music to My Ears

Hudson surprised me recently when he started singing this song on his own. I've been singing this to him at night before bed for awhile. I'm not sure how this became a bedtime lullaby, but he loves it. He always listens, and I guess was learning the words. I think this was the most beautiful rendition of Away in a Manger I have EVER heard!


Along the same lines, Hudson has recently started offering, or really insisiting, to pray before meals. This is the standard: "Father, thank you for this day, time to play outside. Thank you for Jesus. Amen." LOVE it!

LOVE this kid!

In celebration of Mother's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about Hudson a bit. What I love most about my blog is getting to talk about our family as much as I want without worrying if I ramble too much, or say too many times how much I adore them. Also, I am a sporadic blogger, leaving me with several little things about Hudson I've been intending to record for awhile.

So here it is...my Mother's Day blog with some of my favorite Hudson-isms since I last blogged just about him. I really do love this kid!

The addition of the word "actually" to his vocabulary- as in, "that's actually a wheeled excavator, not a track excavator."

Good morning kisses! Our little one is often an early riser (a negative by-product of moving to a toddler bed), so the routine is that he climbs in bed with us until we're ready to get up. He knows wake up time has finally arrived when we announce it's time for good morning kisses. He likes to say "good morning kiss" and then offer a sweet kiss to start the day.

How he talks about the new baby. Talk about funny conversation. On his own he told me we should name the baby "Jesus." When I told Hudson that there was only one Jesus, he offered that we could call the baby "little Jesus" (if only you could hear the way he emphasized "little"). He also talks about baby brother being in his belly. Put these two together and you get this from Hudson- little baby Jesus is kicking in his stomach. Oh my, not even sure how to address that one! More recently, he has started kissing baby brother through my round belly.

His creative imagination and inquisitive nature. He has gone through a phase of choosing a different name that he wants to be called. I love seeing his imagination blossom. Some of his favorite names have been Bertie (the bus on Thomas) and Herman (from a great song about a worm). As for inquisitive, his questions never stop. When we're in a store, he will often ask loudly "what's her name?" about someone near us. He's always wanting more information about people and things around him.

Hudson singing! He comes home from the church nursery full of new songs that he credits Ms. Mary for teaching him. Favorites are My God is So Big, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABCs, and Jesus Loves the Little Children. He also has come to love me singing to him Away in a Manger at bedtime. And then, of course, learning Herman the Worm. Love, love, love hearing H sing this one with Daddy.

And, finally, a new accomplishment in the area of grammer. I've been proud to hear him begin to learn the proper use of pronouns, correctly substituting "you" for "me." For the longest time he'd ask me to hold him by saying "hold you, Mama." Now he's started to unravel the great mystery that is personal pronouns. Who needs potty training? To me, this is a great milestone, indeed!